Blood Sugar 26 mmol/L

[ReaL]

Hi I was looking for some advice/reassurance. I was diagnosed with diabetes (still not sure what type) on Tuesday with a reading of 26mmol/L. I had lost a stone in the last 3 months had a tremendous thirst and basically couldn’t function by Monday evening. I have been prescribed 1500mg of Metformon per day. Today’s reading was 15.3 but I’m am still floored. I’m feeling very nauseous which I think is a result of starting the Metaformin at a high dose but trying to eat. Does anyone have any idea of how long it will take the drugs to kick in and for me to start feeling a bit more normal. I am a teacher and am desperate to get back to work as this is such an important time for my students just prior to the exams. Also any advice about how to go forward would be much appreciated. I am hoping it’s Type 2 but will have a GAD? Test next week to confirm. Thanks

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi I was looking for some advice/reassurance. I was diagnosed with diabetes (still not sure what type) on Tuesday with a reading of 26mmol/L. I had lost a stone in the last 3 months had a tremendous thirst and basically couldn’t function by Monday evening. I have been prescribed 1500mg of Metformon per day. Today’s reading was 15.3 but I’m am still floored. I’m feeling very nauseous which I think is a result of starting the Metaformin at a high dose but trying to eat. Does anyone have any idea of how long it will take the drugs to kick in and for me to start feeling a bit more normal. I am a teacher and am desperate to get back to work as this is such an important time for my students just prior to the exams. Also any advice about how to go forward would be much appreciated. I am hoping it’s Type 2 but will have a GAD? Test next week to confirm. Thanks

Oh dear ReaL, that's a bit of a shocker!

When you were diagnosed and given your blood testing kit, did they also give you anything to test for ketones? That'd usually be some different blood testing strips, or some urine dip sticks? If you were given a means to test, what have they been reading?

People recover at different rates, and it'll likely depend which type of diabetes you have, but for now take it steady, and let us know about the ketone testing.

 

[Colin Crowhurst]

When I was dx (type 1) I found that until I was getting exercise rather than bed rest I was not using up the sugar so the readings stayed around 10-15 for the week I was in hospital when released and going out for walks etc it tumbled down quickly and in fact in insulin injections were reduced twice in the first month. It is a slightly longer game you need to play I fear. The key might be how you actually feel but bear in mind if your body has become used to high blood sugars it might take time for you to be weaned off of it as well! In my case I accepted it and made some changes straight away and focused on following the excellent advice I was given and I was ready to return to work when the driving restriction of four weeks was over. Stick with it you will get there

 

[Juicyj]

Hello and welcome @ReaL Sorry to hear you are still feeling unwell - as @DCUKMod has suggested, you need to be testing for ketones and if above 0.6 seeking medical assistance. Some meters can check for both but will require a different test strip for ketones or blood glucose.

If feeling unwell then please seek urgent medical assistance, hopefully your team have advised you to do this ?

 

[ReaL]

Hi thank you all for your replies. The doctor didn’t mention Ketones specifically but they took 5 vials of blood so I assume it was tested as part of those. I have a bs monitor and was told to take it twice a day and as long as the trend was downward to come back in a couple of weeks. I have started eating low card/no sugar. I do feel a bit better than the last couple of days. I might get some strips from Boots just for the piece of mind. Thanks for the replies

 

[Antje77]

Please get ketones tested now. If you can't test, get medical help. Nausea + high blood sugars are symptoms of ketoacidosis, very dangerous. Of course they are symptoms of a 1000 other things as well, but DKA needs action rather quick.
Unexpected weight loss is more common in T1 than in T2.

 

[ReaL]

Hi all, kertones all ok and I’m starting to feel a lot better tonight. Thanks for the heads up and giving me another piece of the puzzle as I get my head round all of this.

Thanks for your support
Rea

 

[Antje77]

Hi all, kertones all ok and I’m starting to feel a lot better tonight.

Thanks for the update and the friendly words

 

[Northernlad1965]

Hi thank you all for your replies. The doctor didn’t mention Ketones specifically but they took 5 vials of blood so I assume it was tested as part of those. I have a bs monitor and was told to take it twice a day and as long as the trend was downward to come back in a couple of weeks. I have started eating low card/no sugar. I do feel a bit better than the last couple of days. I might get some strips from Boots just for the piece of mind. Thanks for the replies

It can be quite daunting and alarming when you first get a diagnosis of Diabetes, but there are plenty of resources available if you are prepared to scour T'internet The difficulty is in deciding what is GOOD advice and what needs to be promptly filed in the bin under "useless" or even worse "dangerous" !
You've made a decent start by signing up here where you'll find tons of helpful people and even more helpful information. I have personally found that a Keto diet has helped me enormously with my type 2 diabetes. Bringing my hba1c down from 80+ down to 44 which had the added bonus of satisfying my doctor that he could defer prescribing Metformin. Keto isn't for everyone, but anecdotally it seems to be a fairly well tried and tested method to get your bloods back on track. I'm sure that once you know what type you have you'll be able to negotiate the ideal path to control it, especially if you have a good nosey around in here

Best of luck to you